In truth, Liverpool’s fixture list is one we’d certainly accept at this point.
We start with a trip to Watford, before hosting Crystal Palace, and when Arsenal come to Anfield on Match Day Three, we should be sitting nicely on six points – if everything’s gone to plan.
SEE MORE:
Mo Salah encourages Roma to accept Liverpool offer
There doesn’t seem to be too many matches against our rivals consecutively – unlike this season just gone when we had to face Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and United in our first six.
But just like 2016/17, Liverpool have a plethora of fixtures from mid-December onwards which will leave Jurgen Klopp thinking.
No doubt he’ll be continuously asked about the tradition of English football to pile matches together over Christmas and repeat the same answer: that he simply doesn’t understand it.
From December 9th until New Year’s Day, we play seven Premier League matches against Everton, WBA, Bournemouth, Arsenal, Swansea, Leicester and Burnley. That’s seven games in 23 days – at an average of a game every 3.2 days. The games on paper don’t look the toughest – but that’s never mattered to the boss – he just wants adequate time on the training field in between.
Liverpool’s manager demands rest and recovery in between games and his sides have traditionally struggled without it – as was proven in January this year.
Chelsea have the same run of seven in 23, but Arsenal get an extra two days rest in this same period. In fairness though, unlike last term, Arsenal, City and Spurs all have the same number of games as us – it’s only Arsene Wenger’s Gunners who’ve got lucky.
Let’s hope Klopp strengthens the squad enough to deal with the winter – as it cost us a title challenge last time.